WTTC CEO: Corporate travel non-existant if quarantines persist
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) president and CEO Gloria Guevara, speaking at CAPA's Masterclass: How to restore passenger confidence, said (03-Jun-2020) there is "no way we are going to have corporate travellers" if countries continue to implement 14 day quarantines, adding this will further delay the recovery of both corporate and leisure travel.
Lufthansa Group to make 'far-reaching restructuring measures' in response to COVID-19: CEO
Lufthansa Group chairman and CEO Carsten Spohr said (03-Jun-2020) the group will have to implement "far-reaching restructuring measures" to counteract the impacts felt by COVID-19. He said global air traffic "has come to a virtual standstill in recent months" and has impacted the company's 1Q2020 results in "an unprecedented extent". As previously reported by CAPA, the group registered a EUR2.1 billion net loss in 1Q2020. [more - original PR]
IATA CEO: Industry faces headwinds of economics and confidence in travel recovery
IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said (03-Jun-2020) there "will be at least two kinds of headwinds" to get people travelling by air again:
- Economic headwinds. The industry can be "reasonably confident in overcoming this hurdle" said Mr de Juniac. Governments have provided stimulus money to get the economy moving again and business confidence is improving. Individuals and companies that have survived without travel expenses for several months may re-assess their travel priorities, although balanced against this will be "many promotions and incentives to encourage travel";
- Confidence. This will be the bigger challenge said Mr de Juniac. According to him:
- Governments will need the confidence to re-open borders without imposing onerous quarantine measures. If governments impose quarantine measures, it is "equal to keeping their borders closed and industry grounded";
- Individual travellers will need the confidence that travel itself poses no great risks than other activities and that they won't face quarantine or disruption on arrival. [more - original PR]
Qantas, Jetstar see 'a lot of pent up demand', to increase capacity to 15% by end of Jun-2020
Qantas Airways announced (04-Jun-2020) plans to increase scheduled capacity from 5% to 15% of usual operations by the end of Jun-2020. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce stated: "We know there is a lot of pent up demand for air travel and we are already seeing a big increase in customers booking and planning flights in the weeks and months ahead", adding: "We can quickly ramp up flying in time for the July school holidays if border restrictions have eased more by then". Qantas intends to return more employees to service in order to support the expanded network, however it will continue to stand down a majority of employees.
Air Vanuatu announces 'New Era, New Look', CEO Derek Nice to step down 25-Jun-2020
Air Vanuatu announced (30-May-2020) its newly appointed board of directors unveiled the 'New Era, New Look' strategy. Key details include:
- CEO Derek Nice decided not to renew his contract when it expires on 25-Jun-2020. Former CEO Joseph Laloyer will take over as acting CEO while the board finalises recruitment of a new CEO;
- Focusing on a simplified organisation with a smaller management team and the replacement of most expatriate managers by qualified Vanuatu nationals in specific positions, to be recommended by management;
- An overall review of international and domestic operations and evaluate outsourcing of the carrier's Part 145 department. The carrier is in discussions with Civil Aviation Authority of Vanuatu and other stakeholders to facilitate these processes;
- Re-evaluate the carrier's fleet strategy, placing a hold on plans to take delivery of new A220 aircraft later in 2020;
- Plans to move forward with earlier plans to restructure its workforce to commence in Jun-2020. [more - original PR]
JetBlue Airways CEO: Airlines will need to reconsider monetisation of fare structure in future
JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes said he believes airlines will need to reconsider "how they monetise their fare structure, how they create products that give people the ability to change flights more easily" in the future (Travel Weekly, 01-Jun-2020). "It's not going to be acceptable, I don't think, for somebody who is unwell to feel that they are being made to fly", he explained.